Marx Reloaded

[Robert_S]

When people hear Marx, they immediately think of the the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, China, DPRK... At least in the US they do.

So where has it worked out then? Marxism and human nature are inherently incompatible

That's why

Why not dump the personality of Marx and revise the ideas to better fit the accumulated data?

[Hermit]

If anyone of you haven't read or listened to any Slavoj Zizek, do yourself a favor and get on that!

Thanks for the heads up, but if the trailer is anything to go by, I'll pass him by.

Added: I just did a little bit more reading on Žižek. It turns out he is trying to combine (Lacanian) psycho-analysis with Marxism, and refers to his work as "materialist theology". Thanks, Žižek. I have wasted enough time on you.

[Rum]

Whatever you want to call it the economic/political system we have lived under for the last 150 years - exploitative free-market economics is clearly running out of steam in terms of the overall benefits it offers the majority of the population in what until now have been called the advanced economies. It is a well recognised phenomenon that political systems develop a hegemony which is so powerful that it even drives out credible language concerning opposition. Thus is was that Marxism fell into a sort of ridicule when the USSR fell. People stopped thinking and talking about Marxism and even socialism.

Capitalism will make things materially worse for people in the so called west from here on in. What's to do!? Look at alternatives? It doesn't matter what you call them.

[sandinista]

When people hear Marx, they immediately think of the the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, China, DPRK... At least in the US they do.

So where has it worked out then? Marxism and human nature are inherently incompatible

That's why

Why not dump the personality of Marx and revise the ideas to better fit the accumulated data?

Marxism is primarily an analysis of capitalism. Besides that, "human nature" is not a static thing. We evolve.

[Robert_S]

When people hear Marx, they immediately think of the the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, China, DPRK... At least in the US they do.

So where has it worked out then? Marxism and human nature are inherently incompatible

That's why

Why not dump the personality of Marx and revise the ideas to better fit the accumulated data?

Marxism is primarily an analysis of capitalism. Besides that, "human nature" is not a static thing. We evolve.

I'll admit I'm not well read on Marx, my reading on him was done years ago so I'll defer to you on what Marx actually wrote.

That said, his critique of capitalism is bound, rightly or wrongly, with his predictions about will come after it, which morphed into prophecy, prescription and dogma.

Whether or not "human nature" is manipulable is not a yes/no question. Some parts of us are and some parts not.

But I suggest that the name Marx should not be thrown around so much because it seems to overshadow his ideas and prejudice people.

[Trolldor]

Not without good reason.

Marx's ideas are called 'Marxism', it is 'Marxist Communism'. Communism ain't ever been a long term solution, and Marxism ain't even been a short-term one.

[Mishakal]

When people hear Marx, they immediately think of the the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, China, DPRK... At least in the US they do.

So where has it worked out then? Marxism and human nature are inherently incompatible

That's why

Why not dump the personality of Marx and revise the ideas to better fit the accumulated data?

Marxism is primarily an analysis of capitalism. Besides that, "human nature" is not a static thing. We're Devolving.

[sandinista]

You think so? You may be right, but I like to think that humans will evolve at some point.